AFL secretly pleased that Magpies player stupid enough to punt on own game

The AFL is reportedly quite pleased that a Collingwood Magpies player was stupid enough to punt on a game he was involved in, with league insiders suggesting the gambling story will provide a handy distraction from the fan behaviour saga currently marring the competition. With timing that some cynical observers would suggest is a little fishy, news broke early this afternoon that Jaidyn Stephenson is currently being investigated for placing a bet on his own team, coincidentally less than an hour before AFL boss Gill McLaughlin was due to address the media about an alleged crackdown on anti-social fan behaviour.

One anonymous league insider contacted The Watsonia Bugle this afternoon to express his relief at today’s serendipitous events, saying he’d much rather talk about poor behaviour from players than ham-fisted attempts by the league to manage issues in the game. The inside source said, “If I have to answer another question about those stupid ‘Behavourial Awareness Officers’ I’ll bloody spew up. Talking about a player doing something stupid, instead of us as the league, will be a nice change in pace.”

The source also said, “The last week has been intense, we’ve really been under the pump. So, diverting a few of you journos away from AFL House and across town to the Holden Centre is a great result. Chase Stephenson around for a bit instead of asking us overpaid executives whether we’re doing our job correctly or not.”